Ziggy Stardust Nexus Album Release Party

[ziggyplayedguitar]

Why not in the Nexus had started all of this and now skekSa's bar had glitter and space themed drinks for the night, karaoke and a band playing for the release of a new album. Ziggy had decided this was the best course since so much of his family and friends couldn't go into his world to be there for his own party in his own world.

Of course, as with any good party this one was open to any who had stumbled into it and there were those directly invited as well. And flashy posters too. He was going through the ends of a sound check with the band when the bar opened.

There was a merch table, with the usual swag and new album to buy on CD and Vinyl, where they would be signing autographs and doing the whole meet and greet thing. Why not have fans in more than one universe? It had been a trip explaining this all to Mick. Weird and Gilly before dragging them through the portal. Ziggy still imagined there was going to be some crazy moments later in the night. They didn't even know he was an alien, or half alien anywway. All of this was going to blow their minds for sure.

After the show they had plans to spend the night just hanging out with drinking, karaoke, a DJ, and the usual bar fare. Ziggy had left Sa to the food and drink though he had put in a few requests for food his own species could eat.

Ziggy fussed with everything before heading backstage to drink and get dressed. About an hour after the bar opened they came out on stage and played through the whole album front to back plus a few from the previous.

[OOC: Feel free to mingle, karaoke, DJ, dancing, drinking, etc. Will post the band meet and greet below at the swag table as a top level. Any questions feel free to DM me here or on Discord.]

Comments

[the_rebel_son]

"I think I will suffer for introducing you." It's a good natured tease despite sounding serious. "You both have similar senses of humor, at least where I am concerned."

The smart mouth and teasing was similar enough though the two differed vastly in most other places. Lucifer arches a brow at that comment and then nods. "I will but I think it would take more trust and closeness to share our space with someone than to have them with us separately."

It wasn't a fully formed train of thought and more an immediate reaction. He lets it drop though to think about it for awhile. The smile easily returns and he leans in to both kiss Balthazar and whisper in his ear, maybe for the benefit of Levi too. "I think Phenex cannot help themselves because their own as been stolen."

He pulls away and relaxes again, though his arm is still around Balthazar. "I have spent some time with him and he has come to the villa. He is very different from you."

Lucifer might be approaching this with more scrutiny than most though too.

[tryingitall]

Balthazar frowns a little, not sure how to take the comment about trust and closeness. "Depends if it's for a night or for a longer-term thing. I meant the former, and I rather beg to differ in that case."

He's not looking for an argument, either, but he may well be scrambling for control, or desperately looking for a way to protect Lucifer without getting in his way. He's quiet when Lucifer whispers, but it wins a little smile from him, mostly on Levi's behalf.

"Levi needs that, I think. Someone outside of me to be close to."

[the_rebel_son]

Lucifer takes a breath to maintain his calm and glances at Balthazar. "Your emotions are easy to control. To share a bed with you and someone else would mean letting them in on what I feel for you. The experience is not the same for us." Lucifer leans in to Balthazar and hugs him a little tighter.

This is not particularly the place for the place this discussion is going but Lucifer says one more thing before dropping the topic. "Whatever may happen I will do nothing without speaking to you first."

It's all he can do to try and reassure him but his smile is quick to return. "I think it is a benefit to Phenex too. Separation from human contact has been hard on them. They were made for it more than most of us."

[tryingitall]

His feathers are ruffled, literally, and for a moment he looks more than a little mulish. None of it would matter in the least if not for recent events, but he's been frightened and is trying to adjust his approach.

He takes a deep breath in the hug, and after a moment he returns it, wings and all. "I just want to protect you," he says, and the flare of passion in his Grace is as pure as any flame.

He's just going to keep holding on for a minute here, Lucifer; hope you didn't want your personal space bubble back for the next few moments. "Well," he says, "Levi is head over heels, so that ought to be good for the both of them."

[the_rebel_son]

Lucifer waits reaching out to his lover with his grace, soothing him and expressing the trust and love that he feels.

"I know you do." Lucifer kisses his temple. "That is why I am looking to introduce you to people who I want to be friends with, long before any thoughts of something more."

It was honest and open. This wasn't just about anything sexual even. As Lucifer thought about it the more it became about simply including him in his life more. "Do you want to meet this human or would you rather wait?"

Lucifer has no personal space bubble where Balthazar is concerned. "I am glad for both of them, and it gives me an excuse to see those hot rings of yours."

[tryingitall]

The Grace-to-grace touch does what words cannot, and Balthazar starts to relax, snuggling into his arms. "Well," he says, "that's all right then. As long as he's worthy of you."

He closes his eyes briefly and lets himself feel the closeness and intimacy, then smiles, something softer and unburdened in his face now. "No, I think I'm ready now. What better time than a party, anyway?"

He sputters with laughter at the compliment. "Hot Rings! I'm getting that airbrushed on a shirt to wear around the villa."

Only trouble there is he'll have to be in Levi's body to wear anything. Ah, well.

[the_rebel_son]

"I do not know. I have not got that far before deciding to introduce you." That was the distance that Lucifer took Balthazar's request.

Lucifer nods and reluctantly slides away physically but his grace stays close.

"You do that and I will continue to wait for a name to put on my shirt." Lucifer smiles playfully. He was one for nicknames for others, usually as part of intimacy or a remembrance for closeness. Butterfly had stuck because of that, remembering meeting and the process of crashing to the ground like a comet.

"Come on." He offers his hand. "Let me introduce the two of you."

[tryingitall]

That makes Balthazar smile a little. "I love you, by the way. In case it wasn't obvious."

Not much point being uncomfortably jealous of someone you don't love, after all.

"I'm sorry, I'm apparently no good with pet names! I'll have to workshop it. It's a lack of creativity, not a lack of affection." He takes his hand and interlaces their fingers, nodding. "Let's do. It's a party, we ought to have some fun."

[the_rebel_son]

"And I you, above all else." It was true for Lucifer that he would give up everything for Balthazar, which should have been obvious given the danger he faced at the beginning and still faces as fall out from this choice. Heaven was furious with him.

"I will take a kiss over a pet name always." Lucifer did not mind the lack of names. Taking Balthazar's hand and squeezing it he starts looking for Tony in the crowd.

When he does find the person he's looking for he calls out to him. "Hey, Hotrod!"

Look, the man deserves it for the long string of nicknames he used on Lucifer when they first met.

[stark_ravingmad]

Hotrod? Well, that name was used by one man---being--only. The devil of course. How could he refuse such a summons? He bought himself another Sex on the Beach mocktail and came walking up towards Lucifer and...his other half it seemed.

So, this was Balthazar. Not bad. Ruggedly handsome and nothing less for someone like Lucifer.

"Hey, Icarus. I see you've brought along your angel buddy. Nice to meet you, pal."

He held out a hand so the angel could shake it if he so wished. Keeping calm, Tony wondered how his partner would view such a relationship. Was he nervous? A little.

[tryingitall]

Well, hello. Lucifer seemed a little ambivalent on whether this man was a flirtation or a friendship, and how far it might go, but Balthazar can see the appeal at once. Quite masculine, not a young sweet-faced ingenue but a man in the prime of life. Not unlike his own vessel, actually. He likes this better than Dorian, already.

He inhales subtly and notes that the contents of the man's glass are not alcoholic, which is also interesting, particularly at a party where there are drugs all over the place.

He accepts the handshake without hesitation, giving him a little smile as he senses the nerves. Some people take advantage of the high ground when they have it. Balthazar enjoys having it, but sees no reason to be an asshole about it. "The angel Balthazar," he says. "Charmed to meet you, Mr. Rod. Or may I call you Hot?"

...that's a friendly overture. He harasses the people he actually likes.

[the_rebel_son]

Lucifer had been open and honest about his own uncertainty. He would at least become friends with the human. They had similar interests and got along well. Beyond that time and Balthazar were the determining factor.

The tease from Balthazar seems like a good sign and Lucifer expects it to be returned if Tony isn't too uncomfortable with the situation. He considers introducing Tony but for the moment let's it go so the two can work each other out.

He does reach out and put a hand on Tony's shoulder though it is more a pet over the shoulder blade than a pat to offer some greeting and comfort for the nerves. "At least you are drinking something that is not green finally."

The teasing that is going to go around this circle is probably going to be humorous enough to eventually break the ice to the introduction quickly.

[stark_ravingmad]

Well, at least this Balthazar had a sense of humour. Tony was expecting some angel guy to be egotistical and wings out, shield up sort of thing. He was still nervous since it was obvious they were very much in love with each other. The term "third wheel" was at the back of his mind here.

"You can call me Hot if you want, pal. Although, Tony is what most call me."

He squeezed the angel's hand affectionately and then withdrew it, sighing softly. So far so good. As for his drink? Looking down at his mocktail, Tony smirked.

"Yeah. I decided to break the habit, you know. It's a party so I thought why not. Besides, nothing wrong with living dangerously, right?"

Shooting a coy glance to both men, Tony then looked back towards the bar area wondering if he should at least offer Balthazar a drink. It was a friendly gesture and might help with the ice-thawing process a bit. Glancing back towards Balthazar, Tony smiled.

"What's your poison, Obelix? Because I'm buying."

[tryingitall]

He can certainly be egotistical, but half the time that's performative. This is a good, relaxed venue to meet a potential metamour. "Oh, well, perhaps I'll go with Tony for starters, then," he says. "I've just earned the nickname 'Hot Rings' and I wouldn't want us to both have the same first name. It might get confusing."

"Now, are we talking green as in smoothies or green as in margaritas?" He smiles at Tony. "Either way, a break from the norm never hurt anyone, I'm just curious."

"Aren't you kind! Well, I'd take an Old Fashioned, then, but you'll have to let me return the favor later."

[the_rebel_son]

Lucifer's mischevious side boils to the surface, be it the drinks, company, music.. or likely all of it.

"I did give those names." Lucifer shrugs and it isn't as innocent as it looks. "I would not be disappointed by accidently calling both of you at once."

Honestly, even if Tony remained a friend the angel would be fond of both of thier company together. The light hearted and extroverted temperament of both felt good to Lucifer who was feeling reclusive if late.

Lucifer just keeps a hold of Balthazar's hand and is prepared for the other two to just lead him around. He needs to let them work through this more than he needs to interfere right now.

[stark_ravingmad]

"Hot Rings? Well, nothing wrong with giving pet names out. I do it all the time."

It was true that his ego got the better of him most of the time but Tony was actually starting to lower his guard down around both Lucifer and his angel fiancé. The guy was actually quite pleasant and this made for helping Tony ease into the angel circle a little calmer.

"Green smoothies. Mainly chlorophyll wheat grass shakes in particular. I gave up booze a while back since it was controlling my life. Yeah. A recovering addict so I decided to get healthy."

He wasn't actually minding sharing his personal life with both angels since he had to be honest. That was the number one rule in starting any relationship. Moving towards the bar briefly, he purchased Balthazar's drink and passed it to him.

"One Old Fashioned coming up."

Since they were getting along, Tony decided to reach out a little bit more and open up regarding who and what he was. No harm in starting at the beginning.

"Hey, uh, Balthazar, you fly, right? I mean do you guys fly around the Nexus doing aerial displays and the like? Because I build suits, armours, and I like flying. A lot. You see I'm an Avenger back home on my own world and I save people and fight bad guys. I'm known to most as Iron-Man."

[tryingitall]

"My true form is a wheel of fire and eyes," he explains cheerfully. "But most living things can't tolerate a direct look at it."

He nods at the mention of green smoothies, subtly pleased; then his expression softens with sympathy. "That's brilliant. My vessel's going through the same thing, actually. He's gotten into vegan food, it's all very odd to me, but it makes him feel better."

"It's not going to bother you if we drink around you? I suppose you wouldn't have come to the party if it were," and he's not going to let the drink go to waste, either way, but it seems polite to ask.

"Flying for me isn't quite like that. It's almost instantaneous over any distance less than a few light years. In trueform I could do aerobatics, but I'd also risk blinding people."

He looks extremely pensive for a moment, though. Saving people, hunting things. "What sort of bad guys do you fight?"

If Lucifer's fallen in with some sort of hunter, he's not even sure how he'll take that. Then again, that might be all right. It's a subculture he's familiar with, at least.

[the_rebel_son]

"The same is true of my presence without the illusions." Lucifer tells Tony when Balthazar mentions the eye burning death of looking at an angel.

He is mostly just adding to the conversation than leading it at this point. But as talk turns he adds where appropriate. "I am vegetarian when left to my own devices. It is not uncommon among the angels under my rule."

"I can fly instantaneously or slowly. I am more accustom to casual flight." Lucifer would go flying with Tony if he asked.

The what Tony fights gets a curious look from Lucifer. He hadn't asked but he's certainly interested. He orders another drink while listening to the other two.

[stark_ravingmad]

"A wheel of fire and eyes? I bet that gets a few looks at a party or two."

Tony was mostly being playful towards Balthazar's description of himself but knew deep down these were very serious beings. The light alone being strong enough to blind someone. Thoughts going through the engineer's head of Balthazar being a form of pure energy. That alone caused his eyes to widen in fascination alone.

"Your...vessel? You might have to explain that to me, pal. I'm new to this whole angel, high and mighty thing."

Sipping his drink, Tony was curious and fascinated at the same time with what Balthazar was saying, yet woefully confused at the same time. Wheels of fire and vessels? Yeah.

"As for fighting bad guys it's more saving the world from evil threats kind of thing. Superheroes. I work with a band of men and women known as the Avengers. We protect Earth from alien threats too. I'm more of a protector than a fighter. I mostly spend my time in my workshop tinkering with new suit designs and creating inventions."

Flying with Lucifer or Balthazar? Tony is totally up for that and finds himself thinking about soaring high up with his winged friends tagging along for the ride. Or, more likely, Tony tagging along with two powerful angels.

"Sure. I'd love to fly with either of you guys. Tell me more about this vessel you're talking about, Balthazar."

[tryingitall]

Balthazar smiles at Lucifer, then leans in and stage-whispers to Tony conspiratorially, "Strawberries. Not apples. Well, any fruit, but always go for strawberries first, for him."

He nods. "I'm from a different world than Lucifer and his lot--I'm not sure how much he's told you about that. But where I come from, an angel, regardless of rank, cannot walk the Earth without a vessel, which must be a human being. And to inhabit that person's body, we have to have consent."

"Some of my siblings have been careless with that in the past--not telling them all the details and drawbacks, that sort of thing. But I'm pleased to say I'm honest, and the human soul that inhabits this body is also a close friend to me. His name is Levi. I'm sure you'll see his art in Phenex's gallery before too long."

The explanation Tony gives of his work seems to be a relief to the angel. "Ahh. That sounds...colorful. But angels are often soldiers or protectors as well. I think I understand."

[the_rebel_son]

Whispering doesn't hide anything from Lucifer and he gives Balthazar a curious look over what is said. All he can do is smile. At least this wasn't as stressful as he imagined when they had come to this agreement after the fall out with Dorian.

Lucifer waits until Balthazar is done explaining and gives his own. "The angels from my creation use illusions, instead of a human body, to cover our true forms. Each angel manifests a mix of thier natural alignment and a human form. Sometimes it is the form and face given to them by God and others ask humans to wear part or all of thier appearance. Some blend a variety of those concepts into thier illusions."

Lucifer isn't sure he has explained it that detailed to Balthazar but there is an inherent understanding one angel to another that human's aren't privy to.

"Perhaps I will come by your shop sometime." Lucifer comments. "Make sure you do not have any more grass trapped in your joints."

Now Lucifer was teasing the human over thier meeting, but he was serious about coming by. Despite his posh appearance he loved physical work and knowledge.

[stark_ravingmad]

"Strawberries?"

Not apples? Tony offered Balthazar a confused stare as he whispers back; his brows creasing together at the obvious conspiracy towards Lucifer on this matter. Was this some sort of angel guidance regarding the devil's food preference? Either way, Tony just looked at Balthazar before nodding slowly, just trying to process what it meant exactly.

"I'm just trying to understand your world and I'm getting there. Slowly but surely. So, you walk around in someone else's body? That's similar to me getting inside one of my suits and becoming Iron-Man. To you now I'm just the average Tony Stark. Iron-Man is my vessel of sorts."

He was just trying to piece the jigsaw together and was slowly getting it, even if he did have a slightly confused expression on his face.

"Levi? Got it. He's an artist? That's a nice skill to have. I'd love to see some of his work sometime."

Offering Balthazar a reassured smile, he turned to Lucifer. Oh, that. The grass in the suit. The crash landing had been more than a little embarrassing, yet it had lead up to some interesting time together. To have the devil himself walking into his workshop? That was some good shit right there.

"Sure. If you ever need a "tune up" anytime, you'd be welcome."